


in the torn up town

by Marishna



Series: Royal [3]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Hale Family, Alive Laura Hale, Alpha Scott, Emissary Stiles Stilinski, Exposition, Kidnapped Derek, M/M, McCall Pack, The Alpha Pack, Werewolf Conferences & Conventions, hale versus hale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-17
Updated: 2017-04-17
Packaged: 2018-10-20 01:22:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10652061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marishna/pseuds/Marishna
Summary: Derek was never going to listen to his sister again.





	in the torn up town

**Author's Note:**

> Written over a couple prompts for fullmoon_ficlet on LJ.

Derek was never going to listen to his sister again.

That thought ran on repeat in his brain as he stared out the window of Stiles’ old Jeep. When Stiles showed him his vehicle Derek honestly wasn’t sure would make it to Beacon Hills. Malia was in the back, fast asleep except for the occasional kick against the back of his seat. 

Stiles had barely said more than a handful of words to him since they started driving. They were able to return to the hotel and check out properly and pack their things to avoid drawing unwanted attention, then they disappeared into the night.

A slight swerve drew Derek’s attention to Stiles who looked incredibly pale and was gripping the steering wheel tightly. 

Derek hesitated for a second before speaking up. “I doubt you’d take me up on my offer to drive,” he started softly with a quick glance at Malia who didn’t stir. “But are you sure you should be behind the wheel?” 

Scott was in another car somewhere on the road ahead of them, with two other pack members Derek hadn’t met yet named Liam and Kira. Derek thought it was weird he was traveling with a beta and the emissary, of all people, but nothing about anything what happened to him that night was normal. What the hell did he know anymore?

“Don’t worry about her. Malia can sleep through anything,” Stiles replied and Derek could hear the exhaustion in his voice. “And I do appreciate the offer but, considering the circumstances, I think it’s best if I drive. ‘Sides, this is nothing.” Stiles gestured to his appearance lightly. 

Derek could hear the obvious lie but he didn’t call Stiles on it. That was one of the first faux pas a young werewolf learned, especially if they were in a human-friendly pack. 

“How long is the drive?” he asked instead. 

“A few hours, give or take. Won’t run into any traffic so that’ll help,” Stiles replied, nodding at the darkness head on the highway.

“There’s time to ask some questions, then?”

Stiles made a face but nodded. “It’s the least I can do, I guess. I already know what your first one is.”

 _Kissing me at the bar earlier was just a trick, wasn’t it?_ Derek thought to himself. Aloud he said, “And what's that?”

“Why all this happened,” Stiles said with a shrug.

Derek nodded. “I guess that's as good a place as any to start.”

“We really didn't want any of this to happen at all, but especially not this way. We were going to try to approach you tomorrow at breakfast before the conference wrapped up to talk to you. But then you were at the bar and Ennis tracked us down there and things just sort of happened,” Stiles explained.

“And you really believe he's part of an ‘alpha pack’?” Derek asked with air quotes.

Stiles looked over at him sharply. “The alpha pack is made up of five werewolves right now, all alphas by their own right. They're led by a guy called Deucalion who drifts from pack to pack and town to town, draining everything and everyone he can of their power and collecting whoever he sees as an asset. He’ll get rid of anyone from his pack he sees as a threat or no longer useful without hesitation.”

“I would have heard about this guy and his pack if it was real,” Derek said dismissively. 

Without taking his eyes off the road Stiles reached into his shirt pocket for his phone. He quickly typed in his code to unlock it and passed it over to Derek. “Look up my photos and find the album called ‘Sandoval’.”

Derek sighed but did as Stiles asked. When he swiped into the album he saw what looked like official crime scene photographs. They were taken at a house where some rooms had obvious signs of a werewolf attack, such as claw marks gouged deep into the walls and flooring. As he thumbed from picture to picture they got increasingly more disturbing until one photo revealed a bathroom covered in blood and a body in the bathtub, clearly dead. Derek pressed his lips together and kept looking. There were shots of a yard with charred piles still smouldering. It was only once he zoomed in on one that he realized the piles were bodies.

“Jesus Christ,” Derek muttered. 

“That pack was one that the alphas decimated entirely. Wiped them out in a night because they could. Need to see more?”

Derek shook his head and tried to hand Stiles’ phone back. “No, that’s fine.”

Stiles continued anyway. “There’s another album on there of what happened to the Ryan pack. They were all killed by a set of twins so they could become alphas and be accepted into Deucalion’s pack. They were only about nineteen at the time.”

“I get it,” Derek insisted and put Stiles’ phone on the dashboard but Stiles grabbed it and shoved it back at Derek.

“I don’t think you do. This is what _my_ pack is up against, okay? We don’t know if Deucalion wants Scott for his pack, if he’s going to try to go after a beta and force them to kill Scott for his power, or if he wants to wipe us off the map. All we can do is wait but we’re not going to let him take our pack or our town without a fight.”

Derek could hear the steel in Stiles’ tone and glanced over at him. His cheeks were red, bright under his pale skin, and his knuckles were white from how tightly he was holding the steering wheel. His heartrate was quick as he practically radiated ‘come at me’ vibes. 

It appeared that Stiles’ eyes lit up in the darkened car interior in a way Derek never remembered seeing any human’s do before. He blinked a couple times to try to clear his own vision but there was a definite soft glow Stiles was giving off.

“You’re not just an emissary, are you?” Derek asked quietly, unable to stop himself from such an inappropriate question. Derek noticed an immediate change in Malia’s breathing in the backseat and realized she wasn’t truly sleeping the whole time.

To Derek’s surprise instead of getting angrier or lashing out at him Stiles let out a bark of laughter and seemed to relax a bit. “My eyes are doing the thing, aren’t they?”

“If you mean glowing then, yeah,” Derek said drily. 

“Sorry, I can usually keep it under wraps. Guess I’m more worn out than I thought.”

“Keep _what_ under wraps?” 

“I’m a spark,” Stiles explained simply. The word echoed in Derek’s mind and he vaguely recalled learning about them as a kid.

“Sparks are thought to have died out,” Derek remembered slowly.

“Turns out it runs in my family. My maternal great-grandmother was one but it skipped a couple generations. The closest we can come up with is that I inherited the gene or whatever and when Scott was bitten it was triggered.”

“That’s… pretty cool,” Derek said thoughtfully. “Can you do anything? I mean, uh. Sorry, that was rude.”

Stiles snorted. “Ever been slapped for something you’ve said?” Derek shook his head quickly. “Then you don’t even know rude. And yeah, I can do a couple things. Small things but all the same. All the things I _can’t_ do have a lot to do with why we need your help.”

Derek noticed the shift in Stiles’ tone and turned in his seat so he could watch him easier. Stiles drummed his fingers on the steering wheel for a long moment before he started talking again.

“How much do you know about Beacon Hills?” Stiles asked.

“Not very much,” Derek admitted. 

“There are a bunch of telluric currents or energy lines that run through the town. Back in my great-grandmother’s day the town was a hotspot for druids because of a big-ass tree in the woods called the nemeton. It uses the currents that converge around it to send out signals that draw supernatural creatures of all kinds to the town. Hence the name ‘Beacon Hills’. At that time the werewolf pack that claimed the area was able to monitor the tree and make sure balances were kept in check.”

Stiles rolled his shoulders tiredly and continued, “There’s not a whole lot of information out there about the Beacon Hills nemeton because it was looked after primarily by the pack. I’ve researched others like it and the worst thing I’ve seen come from them is a kind of feedback loop situation. If people treat it with respect it’ll do the same in return for the community and territory but also if someone tries to abuse it.”

Derek scrubbed a hand over his face as he tried to make sense of what Stiles was saying. “What does this have to do with me?”

“The nemeton was cut down to a stump around World War II. We’re not sure if it was the cause or effect but around that time a lot of people in the town died, including most of the area pack. The werewolves who were left either moved to join other packs or waited it out until your mom’s family’s pack expanded their territory and accepted them, thus making the area…”

“Hale territory,” Derek supplied.

“And lo, the truth was revealed,” Stiles drawled with a dramatic flick of his hand.

“What do you expect me to do in Beacon Hills? I haven’t been there in years. Hell, I was only about two before we moved.”

“The nemeton went dormant when your pack left until a couple years ago when Scott was bitten by an alpha chased out of his own territory by rogue hunters. He was looking for somewhere to establish a new pack and Scott happened to be the first person he came across. Somehow we managed to keep him from going nuts during his first full moon but shortly after his alpha tried to come after him.”

Stiles fell silent but Derek could figure out the next part of the story. “Scott killed him.”

Stiles was quiet for a long moment. “Yeah. I thought… I’d heard that if he killed his own alpha he’d go back to being human again. But, uh. Not so much. Everything we’ve done has been by trial and error and we’re all still alive, even if we’re kinda worse for wear.”

“The nemeton?”

“Yeah, that. Shortly after Scott became an alpha I started noticing my own… abilities _and_ the nemeton woke up. We were in the middle of midterms that week too, so everything pretty much fucking sucked.”

Derek couldn’t help the snort of laughter that he let out. Stiles gave him a half grin and continued. “Not sure if you’d call this a happy accident or fate but Scott had a part time job at with the local vet. Turns out he’s a druid. What are the odds, right? Anyway, he’s where we got our information on the nemeton and helped me learn about my thing.

“We figured out that because your pack didn’t officially give up the territory and no one else tried to claim it in the meantime it’s still under Hale control and the nemeton is part of that. It won’t respond to another alpha, which is fine because Scott doesn’t want to use it for anything, but it’s unprotected. And now Deucalion knows about it.”

“How?” Derek asked sharply.

Stiles shrugged. “Best we can figure is that he’s using the telluric currents to target packs he’s going to attack next. With the nemeton active again it’s sending energy spikes and drawing attention to the town again. We can do our best to protect the territory but if Deucalion gets to the nemeton we’re all dead, one way or another. If he can’t use it himself he’ll find a way to get to Scott; he’ll force him to claim the territory, and then he’ll kill him for the power.”

Derek’s head was spinning with the information overloading his brain. He crossed his arms and frowned as he thought. “Could you be overreacting?”

Stiles pointed to his phone that Derek was still holding. “Take another look at those pictures and ask me that again.”

“Okay, fine,” Derek conceded. “But why do you need me? Shouldn’t you talk to my mother?”

“We tried,” Stiles replied flatly. “We couldn’t get through with a phone call or letter so we figured if we approached you at the conference we could explain our situation and ask you to act as a liaison. Like I said before we could ask to meet with you over breakfast everything happened and… well, you were there.”

“And pretending not to know who I was at the bar?” Derek asked curiously, unable to stop himself.

Even in the dark Derek could tell Stiles’ cheeks were flushing and he observed Stiles resolutely stare straight ahead at the road. “I didn’t expect you to be so _hot_ ,” he blurted out.

Derek coughed and ducked his head, trying to hide his own red face. From the back he heard Malia giggle lightly.

Before either of them could say anything else Stiles phone rang. Derek handed it over, taking care not to let his fingers brush against Stiles’ as he accepted it. 

“What’s up, Scott?” Derek could hear the other side of the conversation easily.

 _Need to fill up. There’s a 24-hour gas station up ahead, sound good?_ Scott asked

Stiles glanced over at Derek who nodded. “Yeah, sure. See you in a few.”

Stiles and Derek didn’t say anything until they pulled into the gas station parking lot when Malia conveniently “woke up”. Derek looked back at her and she gave him a knowing look. Derek faced front again and was out of the Jeep the second it stopped, assuring Stiles he wasn’t going to run off.

***

“C’mon, c’mon,” Derek muttered as he called his sister. He was pacing along the edge of the parking lot as far away from the other werewolves while still being in their eyeline. Far on the horizon Derek could see the first hints of daybreak here on the west coast.

As soon as Laura picked up he blurted out, “I need help” at the same time she said, “Are you crazy?”

“What?” Both Hale siblings replied at the same time.

“Hold on,” Derek said, shaking his head. “What are you saying, Laura?”

“You made out with an _emissary_ ,” Laura hissed over the line, keeping her voice down as if there were prying ears around her.

“How do you know about that?” 

Derek could practically hear his sister roll her eyes at him over the line. “Derek,” she started patiently. “You were in a bar full of werewolves as part of a werewolf convention. I told you to go out and have _fun_ , not start an inter-pack disaster!”

Derek ran a hand through his hair and let out a frustrated growl. Even though Laura wasn't his alpha yet his wolf still recognized her as his leader and he felt immediately chastised. On Laura's end of the call there was some rustling and muffled voices. Derek could hear her walking, then a door closed and the sounds cleared up.

“It’s not like I went out to purposely cause trouble,” Derek griped. “ _I_ didn’t want to go out, remember?”

Laura’s next words were far too measured for Derek’s liking. “Derek, do you know who met at the bar last night?” Derek paused for a moment, wondering how to respond. “Derek?”

“Have you ever heard of an alpha pack, Laura?” Derek asked abruptly, loud enough for even Stiles to perk up across the parking lot. Scott and Stiles were huddled together within view of Derek if he tried to run, but far enough away to show respect for his space. 

“Derek, we just need to get you home,” Laura replied, breezing over his question. “Where are you, I’ll have a rep from the conference meet with you.”

Derek froze in place, his figurative hackles rising. “Avoiding my question makes me wonder why you’re lying, Laura.”

Scott was walking across the parking lot towards him with Stiles quick on his heels and Malia trailing them both while Liam and Kira hung back with the vehicles. 

“You don’t know what you’re talking about and we need to get you out of there, Derek,” Laura told him flatly. He could hear her tone change from a cajoling, coaxing one to her no-nonsense alpha-to-be voice. “Tell me where you are.”

“What the hell? No, Laura. Put mom on the phone,” Derek demanded, anger starting to mix with his confusion.

“We’ll explain it when you’re back here,” Laura argued and in the background he could hear her quick footsteps, likely crossing the hall to their mother’s office.

“I’m going to stay for a couple more days, Laura,” Derek said firmly. 

 

“Derek Hale, I am _order_ \--”

Laura was cut off when Scott grabbed the phone out of Derek’s hand. “This is alpha Scott McCall. Derek is coming with us.”

On the other end of the phone Derek could hear Laura reply in a growl. _“Let my brother go.”_

Scott shook his head. “Sorry, no.” Derek refrained from burying his face in his hands and Stiles half-grinned, half-cringed.

 _”What are you telling me, alpha McCall?”_ Laura asked formally.

“I guess… that we’ve kidnapped Derek. We’ll be waiting in Beacon Hills for you and alpha Hale. Thanks.”

With that Scott disconnected the call and tossed the phone back to Derek who caught it easily, although he was a little surprised. It must have shown because Scott shrugged. 

“If you wanted to run you would have already. I know Stiles explained what’s going on to you and I have no right to ask you this but we’re running out of time and options. Our families and friends are all in danger--the whole _town_ is at risk. I need your help, Derek. Will you give it?” 

Derek felt like he could have offered to make an arrangement with his mother to send help from other werewolves who would jump into a potential fight with the alpha pack and he could return home without getting involved. Something deep down in his gut that he didn’t want to explore fully told him that she and Laura would do whatever they could to keep him from asking questions.

But Laura also complained that he never had to risk anything. 

Derek nodded. “I’ll do anything I can.”

Scott grinned and grabbed his hand, shaking it vigorously. Over his shoulder Derek noticed Stiles’ relieved expression as he mouthed _thank you_ to him. Derek shrugged in return but felt his wolf accept the praise and sit a little taller in his center.


End file.
